Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Application of exoskeletons for occupational safety and health management in construction (2023)
Book Chapter
Babalola, A., Urhal, P., Manu, P., Da Silva Bartolo, P. J., Cheung, C., Yunusa-Kaltungo, A., …Paton-Cole, V. (2023). Application of exoskeletons for occupational safety and health management in construction. In P. Manu, S. Gao, P. J. S. Bartolo, V. Francis, & A. Sawhney (Eds.), Handbook of Construction Safety, Health and Well-being in the Industry 4.0 Era (249-264). London: Taylor & Francis (Routledge). https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003213796-23

The construction industry is a high-risk industry due to its poor record of injuries and deaths globally. Recently, exoskeletons, as part of a suite of Industry 4.0 technologies, have emerged as a potential effective technological approach for addres... Read More about Application of exoskeletons for occupational safety and health management in construction.

The-state-of-the-art of soft robotics to assist mobility: A review of physiotherapist and patient identified limitations of current lower-limb exoskeletons and the potential soft-robotic solutions (2023)
Journal Article
Morris, L., Diteesawat, R. S., Rahman, N., Turton, A., Cramp, M., & Rossiter, J. (2023). The-state-of-the-art of soft robotics to assist mobility: A review of physiotherapist and patient identified limitations of current lower-limb exoskeletons and the potential soft-robotic solutions. Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation, 20(1), 18. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12984-022-01122-3

Background: Soft, wearable, powered exoskeletons are novel devices that may assist rehabilitation, allowing users to walk further or carry out activities of daily living. However, soft robotic exoskeletons, and the more commonly used rigid exoskeleto... Read More about The-state-of-the-art of soft robotics to assist mobility: A review of physiotherapist and patient identified limitations of current lower-limb exoskeletons and the potential soft-robotic solutions.

The PrHand: Functional assessment of an underactuated soft-robotic prosthetic hand (2022)
Conference Proceeding
De Arco, L., Ramos, O., Múnera, M., Moazen, M., Wurdemann, H., & Cifuentes, C. A. (2022). The PrHand: Functional assessment of an underactuated soft-robotic prosthetic hand. In 2022 9th IEEE RAS/EMBS International Conference for Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob). https://doi.org/10.1109/BioRob52689.2022.9925316

Functional tests aim to compare the functionality of a prosthesis with a human hand. The main objective of this work is to present and evaluate an affordable prosthesis (PrHand) built with soft robotic technologies and novel joints based on compliant... Read More about The PrHand: Functional assessment of an underactuated soft-robotic prosthetic hand.

Open-source re-configurable interfacing of Tobii Pro Glasses 2 with ROS2 (2022)
Presentation / Conference
Nunez Sardinha, E., & Ruiz Garate, V. (2022, October). Open-source re-configurable interfacing of Tobii Pro Glasses 2 with ROS2. Paper presented at XR & Robotics Workshop at IROS 2022, Kyoto International Conference Center (ICC Kyoto) Takaragaike, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-0001 Japan

Gaze tracking is a powerful assistive tool enabling people with severe disabilities to interact with complex systems intuitively. Among these, screen-based gaze-control is one of the main input tools used with people with severe mobility impairments,... Read More about Open-source re-configurable interfacing of Tobii Pro Glasses 2 with ROS2.

Optical fiber angle sensors for the PrHand prosthesis: Development and application in grasp types recognition with machine learning (2022)
Conference Proceeding
De Arco, L., Pontes, M. J., Vieira Segatto, M. E. V., Monteiro, M. E., Cifuentes, C. A., & Díaz, C. A. R. (2022). Optical fiber angle sensors for the PrHand prosthesis: Development and application in grasp types recognition with machine learning. . https://doi.org/10.1109/LAEDC54796.2022.9908232

This work presents the instrumentation of the PrHand upper-limb prosthesis with optical fiber sensors to measure the angle of the proximal interphalangeal joint. The angle sensors are based on bending-induced loss and are fabricated with polymer opti... Read More about Optical fiber angle sensors for the PrHand prosthesis: Development and application in grasp types recognition with machine learning.

Mirror-based robotic therapy for ankle recovery with a serious game: A case study with a neurological patient (2022)
Conference Proceeding
Pino, A., Gomez-Vargas, D., Garzón, A., Roberti, F., Carelli, R., Múnera, M., & Cifuentes, C. A. (2022). Mirror-based robotic therapy for ankle recovery with a serious game: A case study with a neurological patient. . https://doi.org/10.1109/ICORR55369.2022.9896510

Neuromuscular disorders, such as foot drop, severely affect the locomotor function and walking independence after a brain injury event. Mirror-based robotic therapy (MRT) has been a promising rehabilitation strategy favouring upper limb muscle streng... Read More about Mirror-based robotic therapy for ankle recovery with a serious game: A case study with a neurological patient.

Three study cases of social robotics in autism spectrum disorder treatment: Personalization and usability of CASTOR robot (2022)
Conference Proceeding
Gaitán-Padilla, M., Cifuentes, C. A., & Múnera, M. (2022). Three study cases of social robotics in autism spectrum disorder treatment: Personalization and usability of CASTOR robot. . https://doi.org/10.1109/ICORR55369.2022.9896590

Social assistive robotics in autism has been implemented in studies and therapies to improve social skills and encourage children to comply with therapies. However, autism symptoms vary in their spectrum, which generates difficulties in implementing... Read More about Three study cases of social robotics in autism spectrum disorder treatment: Personalization and usability of CASTOR robot.

Physical human-robot interaction influence in ASD therapy through an affordable soft social robot (2022)
Journal Article
Pinto-Bernal, M. J., Cespedes, N., Castro, P., Munera, M., & Cifuentes, C. A. (2022). Physical human-robot interaction influence in ASD therapy through an affordable soft social robot. Journal of Intelligent and Robotic Systems, 105(3), Article 67. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10846-022-01617-0

In the latest years, there has been a rise in social robotics' interest as a support tool in various scopes. For instance, social robots have been used in Autism treatments, improving social skills, social interaction, and children's daily activities... Read More about Physical human-robot interaction influence in ASD therapy through an affordable soft social robot.

A machine learning model for predicting sit-to-stand trajectories of people with and without stroke: towards adaptive robotic assistance (2022)
Journal Article
Bennett, T., Kumar, P., & Ruiz Garate, V. R. (2022). A machine learning model for predicting sit-to-stand trajectories of people with and without stroke: towards adaptive robotic assistance. Sensors, 22(13), https://doi.org/10.3390/s22134789

Sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit transfers are fundamental daily motions that enable all other types of ambulation and gait. However, the ability to perform these motions can be severely impaired by different factors, such as the occurrence of a stroke,... Read More about A machine learning model for predicting sit-to-stand trajectories of people with and without stroke: towards adaptive robotic assistance.

Role of assistive devices in rehabilitation of people with stroke (2022)
Presentation / Conference
Kumar, P. (2022, June). Role of assistive devices in rehabilitation of people with stroke. Presented at Assistive Tech workshop, Bristol Robotics Laboratory, Bristol Robotics Laboratory, UWE

This presentation provides an overview on role of assistive devices - Lycra Arm sleeves/accelerometers/ GripAble Gaming Device for the rehabilitation of upper limb function in people with stroke. Of the 80% of people with stroke who lose upper-l... Read More about Role of assistive devices in rehabilitation of people with stroke.